AN:
Before the chapter starts I wanna thank my beautiful reviewers Nafia7, Chocolatepie277, TheAmazingQwerty & Stars Above The Moon! You guys are awesome! =)
Featured in this chapter is the "Real Talk" video by Adam. If you haven't seen it yet, you seriously should check it out. Like... seriously. Do it. Now.
Please listen to the music, I really like the band and the song fits very well to the chapter!

Music tip:
Sunrise Avenue – Damn Silence
youtube: watch?v=JANatTiHBRw

For You

Chapter 9:
Dry my Tears

[Still flashback]

"I love you too, Adam."

The second the words had left his mouth he regretted it.
Of course he wanted to let Adam know how much he really meant to him. Of course his parents deserved to know it as well, because they had always been honest to him. But the fear of the consequences…

Once he had actually talked with Adam about whether to tell their parents or not. Back then he had been so afraid and shaken up, that they had avoided the topic ever since. His family meant the world to Mitch. He needed their back up when everything was too much for him, when he felt like he was being crushed under the weight of his public life. Their opinion had always been very important to him, when he was feeling unsure about something specific they would help him out.

If they actually detested him for loving Adam…
They never once had talked about the possibility.
…he was sure he would break.

So he had never planned to come out. He knew he had to at one point, but ignorance had been bliss. And now Adam, who had made him do things he never imagined before, was the reason he risked everything that was worthy to him.
He regretted that there was the possibility of never seeing his family again.
He did neither regret his love for Adam, nor his words.

And Adam knew all of that.
"You… did you just really-"

"I did."
His voice was not even a whisper, barely audible at all.
Mitch did not dare to look up again. He was sure that they were still watching him.

"Should I better hang up?"
Adam tried desperately to stay calm, but the nervousness in his voice was noticeable.

At first Mitch had been shocked by his own actions. Now the fear spread through the veins in his body and panic flared up. "No, I need you!" he replied in a hushed voice and failed miserably to cover his emotions.
"You know you have to talk to them. There is no- Use this chance, Mitch. I wish I could be by your side right now and help you, but please Mitch, get things straightened out with your parents. It's going-"

It's going to be alright.
Adam knew better and stopped at the right time. Life wasn't always rosy and shining and happy. It could be an endless dark pit and smash you in the face over and over again. So he kept quiet. 'It's going to be alright' didn't exist. Instead he said something way more important to Mitch. Something, that finally motivated him to give in.
"No matter what happens, I'll be there for you. Always. I love you."

Even though the panic was still roaring inside of his body, he was able to form a little smile on his face. Adam. How did he deserve such a beautiful and caring man? He probably was the most kind-hearted person Mitch had ever met and Adam did all he could to brighten up his days with little things.
"Alright. Thanks and… I love you so, so much. You know-"

A quiet laugh on the other side of the call interrupted him.
"I know baby. Have to get ready for the live stream now, I'll speak to you in the morning. If something's not right, call me immediately!"

A smile, another word, then they ended their call.
As soon as the picture of Adam on his phone disappeared, he was thrown back into reality.

He still stared at the floor, but his now bandaged hand was held tightly by his mother's hands. After his revealing words he had unconsciously tried to clench his fists and to stop Mitch from hurting himself, she had grabbed it. A good sign? Or something she did instinctively?

The silence became unbearable.
"Mitch?"
Slowly he glanced up. His mother was still sitting in front of him on the other chair, his father still stood by the oven, leaning against a counter with his arms crossed in front of his chest. And then it began.

"How long has this going on between you?"
His father. A bit surprised, but neither angry nor happy.
Impassive. It scared Mitch even more.

"A few weeks."
His voice broke, he felt the urge to look away again and avoided direct eye contact.
There was no going back now.

"And how did it start?"
His mother.
Her smile from before was gone. A bit of curiosity… but nothing else.
He took it as a bad sign.

"It kind of began on our trip to Europe."
Silence.
His father opened his mouth and pushed himself away from the counter.
"Well Mitch, you know what that means, right?"

His heart stopped beating.
He held his breath.
Later on he would be embarrassed to even think about it, but in the situation he couldn't hold back the tears from forming in his eyes.

At this point his parents noticed that something was extremely wrong.
His father stopped talking and his mother began with a confused, "Are you o-"
Then Mitch interrupted them with a shaking voice.
"Please don't kick me out!"

"What?"
Finally Mitch looked up into their eyes.
There was no anger, no disgust. Just pure confusion and… love?
Another moment of silence, then they noticed his trembling hands, the clenched muscles and the panic in his eyes. And then it made sense.

His parents had never questioned his decision.
They approved it from the beginning.
They had taken it for granted all along.

For their part both of them realized in the same moment, what his thoughts had been about.
"Oh god, dear, no, no! Don't you dare to even think about it!" his mother began and put her other hand on his bandaged one as well. A soft smile helped him to breathe again and he remembered her earlier words. She had supported him all the time and had maybe even known about it before he had uttered those significant words.

A hand was placed on his shoulder and his father knelt down by his side with a smile as well on his face. One eyebrow was raised and his eyes were lit up with amusement. "We'll always support you, no matter what, buddy."
His heart skipped a beat, just to continue strong and steady.
There was no air left in his lungs, so he took a long and deep breath.
He felt more alive than ever before.
"But you know you have to bring him with you soon, right?"

A happy laughter. His own. He nodded.
"Sure, dad."

They talked for a bit about his new relationship, even at dinner, but Mitch couldn't bring himself to care about that. Everything was good and for the first time in weeks the heavy feeling in his chest lifted. His family knew. They approved of them being together.
A simple laugh, Connor asked why.
"I feel like I could move mountains right now," he answered with another laugh and glanced at his parents. Later that evening he wrote Adam a message, because he was still live streaming, and finally went to bed.

On the next morning he got up…
and then all hell broke loose.

It was a weekend, so Mitch sat together with his family at the table and ate breakfast, as his mobile phone went off. His mother threw him a reproachful look but kept quiet. It was Jerome. He frowned because of the unusual hour and with an uneasy feeling he answered the call. "Hey buddy, can I call you back later? We're just-"

He couldn't even finish his sentence, as his best friend interrupted him.
"Have you seen it?!"

"What are you talking about?"
The anxious feeling became stronger and slowly Mitch put the cup back down.
For a moment Jerome didn't answer. Then he continued with a way too serious tone that made him freeze.
"Go to your computer. Right now."

"Okay, Jerome you are scaring-"

"Do it. Get on the internet and go to YouTube."
His breathing quickened and slowly he leaned back in his chair. Something was wrong with one of their friends. Otherwise Jerome wouldn't behave like that. His feet didn't want to move, he couldn't even stand up. One last time he tried to get Jerome to speak.
"Please Jerome, what is going on?"

A sigh.
"It's about Adam."

For a moment he died.

Mitch ended the call without another word, put the phone away and got up. His mother was talking, but her words didn't reach him. A second later he was in the hallway, then on his way downstairs. He couldn't think, as he sat down on his chair. He couldn't comprehend what the meaning of Jerome's words could be, while he turned on the computer.

He wasn't thinking.
His emotions were put on ice.

If Adam-
No.

Words reached his ears. Confused he stared at the screen. A hand on his shoulder. His father. A worried face. He was talking. Mitch turned around again, opened his browser and YouTube.

If Adam was-
He wasn't.

The silence disappeared, the sounds rose again and with a sudden deep breath Mitch escaped his state of shock. Adam was neither dead nor hurt. Jerome would have acted completely different, right? It was serious, but Adam was okay.
"What happened?!" His father was really worried by now, but he seemed to be relieved as he finally got an answer. "I have no idea."

Adam had uploaded a video.
Real Talk
Mitch was absolutely clueless what it could be about. Was it about their relationship? No, Adam would have talked to Mitch for sure and they would have done it together. Could it be about something regarding the fans? Maybe the comment section? They had talked a lot about it with the other members of Team Crafted, because the advertisings and the hate comments were present on all of their channels. But over 15 minutes?
Mitch was absolutely clueless and so he hit the play button. His father stayed with him. If it was something personal, Adam wouldn't have uploaded it to YouTube in the first place.

The video began to play.
Adam struggled a lot and with every passing second, the dread Mitch felt became stronger and stronger.
And then he finally opened up.

"…because when I was younger, I went through one of the biggest depressions of my life…"
Mitch stopped breathing.
Depression? His Adam?
Always smiling, trying to make him laugh and being the happiest person in the videos?
He couldn't think too long about it, because the next sentence was even harder to comprehend.

"…doctors told me if I didn't do shit about my health, they would- I… I would die in two years…"
Adam tried to laugh.
Mitch's vision began to blur and he finally gasped for air.
His wonderful, lovable Adam could have died.
He felt as if someone had cut the ground from under his feet.

"…I mean, I'm an actual person with a- with a back-story…"
One that he had never shared with Mitch.
He wasn't mad - how could he? -, but to hear something so important via the internet, to not be by his side when he needed Mitch the most…
Slowly he put a hand over his mouth and tried to hold back the emotions.

" - my environment was kind of an abusive one, like, I would come home and I… it would just instantly put me in a deep depression…"
His stomach turned. Closing his eyes Mitch leaned forward and placed his forehead on the desk in front of the computer.
"Dear god," his father whispered behind him and sounded surprised and angry at the same time.

"…and this is why I owe you guys everything, I owe you my, literally my fucking life… I literally owe you my life."
Mitch understood the hidden meaning behind those words.
If his channel didn't explode back then…
He groaned and put his hands over his head.
Without saying a word his father placed a comforting hand on his back.
Just a day ago he wouldn't have expected to be so glad about the support of his parents regarding his personal life.

"When I don't post a video for the day, I don't worry about 'Oh man, I just lost fucking money'. No, I worry about the fact that maybe someone needed a fucking video that day and needed something to look at, to cheer them up…"
He was shaking all over his body, but by hearing those words his despair was reduced a bit by his pride.
Adam's life had been incredibly hard and dark.
Nonetheless he turned out to be an inspirational, happy person, whom Mitch fell in love with.
Now more than ever.
A small smile formed on his lips, as he kept his position and his hands on his head.

"…I just want you guys happy. Like, that's my whole goal on YouTube, that's everything to me. And I owe you guys everything, because I would not be here without you guys."
Adam took a break and kept quiet for some painfully long seconds.
He slowly breathed in and out and tried not to tear up.
Mitch couldn't bear it any longer.

"That's it," he murmured and got out of the chair.
His father rose as well. "What are you doing?"

By the tone of his voice Mitch could tell that he was suspicious. Of course he was. After the last hours, after their talk and the video now… He probably already knew what his son was planning. "I have to get to him, right now!"
"Mitch, you can't just drive off-," he began and took a step forwards, as Mitch interrupted him with an angry voice. "Of course I can, watch me! You're not holding me back when he needs me!" He raised his arms and stopped walking for a moment, but the reply of his father wasn't quite what he had expected it to be. "I know, but you shouldn't drive in your condition! Try to calm down first."
Hi words made sense and while he unconsciously ran a hand through his hair, he nodded slowly. No need to risk his life, when all he could think about were Adam's words. Before one of them could return to the desk or continue their short conversation, a buzzing sound filled the silent basement. His mobile phone. In the blink of an eye Mitch stood near his desk again and picked up his phone. A message from Adam.

Please don't flip out. I'm fine – I really am. Thanks to you. I wanted to get these words out for a very long time, but never could. When you confessed to your parents yesterday, even though you were really afraid of doing so… You inspired me. I love you, Mitch. I'm better now. It felt good, didn't it? Don't do anything rash, I'll drive to my family now.
Love you
A.

A low chuckle.
Mitch shook his head.
On his lips a content smile, as he looked up again.

And suddenly the world became a brighter place.

Important information about the next chapter!
It will be about the picture I chose as the cover. It will be more than just a kiss. I'll still write it appropriate to the rating, but I thought it would be better to at least warn you guys. ;)